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Halo: Rising Upon End
'''Dramatis Personae' United Nations Space Command Defense Force Marine Corps *Brigadier General James Corbett, CMDR PONTDEF-1 United Nations Space Command Defense Force Navy *Commander Ava Weinhardt, CO UNSC Pontoon Halo: Rising Upon End Prologue The UNSC Pontoon loomed in the sprawling vacuum that is outer space. Being a Perry-class Sloop, the ship was quite agile yet powerful enough to defend itself for "minimum duration," a term used by UNSC personnel to define the amount of time needed to escape from stronger Covenant vessels. The small, titanium-clad vessel was on a routine patrol in neutral systems when it encountered a Dauntless cruiser performing a similar mission. With a damaged translight engine, the New Covenant warship could barely stay in pace with the Pontoon's Slipspace capabilities. After a week of continuous pursuit, a malfunction forced the Human ship back into real space and was in the vicinity of an odd structure. "Where the hell are we and what the fuck is that?" a middle-aged woman said from the bridge of the Pontoon. "We're still in Outskirts, but its all uncharted. The Marianas was supposed to pick it up a month and a half ago but was blown out of the damn sky by a Harbinger," replied Lieutenant Bobby Valley. The woman he spoke to was the up-and-coming Commander Ava Weinhardt. Her Hawai'ian roots had definitely shown through her stereotype-continental American appearance. "And the structure? Covenant, perhaps?" said Ava. "Looks like it, Commander. Chances are that cruiser back there was after it, and in an hour it'll be all over us like a lead blanket, ma'am." "Dammit, wake up the General. Run a check on all systems, Lieutenant." "Yes, ma'am." Within five minutes a man of enormous stature walked into the bridge. The man happened to be one of the most revered Orbital Drop Shock Troopers in history and because of his great health at this old age, he still preferred to be a fighter. "You ordered a General?" he jokingly said following his lighting of a Sweet William cigar. "Guess so, and could'ya put that thing out in here, James? I'm trying to quit," said a disgruntled Ava. "So, why are we out of Slipspace now? And furthermore, why can't I get some nap?" James said, who was purposely cranky over being forced put his cigar out. "Our FTL drive is out of line, but anyways, look outside the window. We found some sort of Covenant station." James peered out the observation window, taking quick notice of the massive structure caught in the orbit of a gas giant. "Ma'am, that ain't no Covenant station. It's Forerunner." This confused Ava, who had only learned of Forerunner technology in the academy but never seen anything of their make, and therefore was in awe of its presence. After a hefty examination, she did notice its differences from standard Covenant stations that dotted hostile territory. A partially shocked Ava inquired, "Well, you obviously know more about what to do at this point, General. What do you say we do?" "Send myself along with Lieutenant Williams to it, we'll see what's going on." "Alright, go right ahead. Lieutenant Devor, is the dropship ready?" "Actually, they've been working on a malfunction in its engine. It's down for about half an hour, yet." "Damn it," Ava said. "Looks like you're gonna have to wait. Find a rifle while you wait." James sarcastically grinned before putting his helmet back on and leaving the room. Might as well tell Williams myself, he thought. A few minutes later, James arrived at Williams' quarters and banged on the door. "Lieutenant Williams?" "Yeah, who's out there?" "Brigadier General Corbett, get out here." A shocked young man hastily tidied up before greeting the hardened General. "My apologies sir," said Williams, embarrasingly. "Don't sweat it," James said, "I have good news, anyway. We're deploying in zero-forty." "Who's we, may I ask?" "Me, you, and a hell of a lot of ammo. Mind if I sit in here for a minute? All the damn grunties took up the mess hall." "Sure, go right ahead." With that, James stepped into the small room where the company-grade officer resided along with nine others. Before sitting down, Corbett's thoughts were interrupted by an announcement of Ava's. "All units on standby. Incoming boarders. All units, incoming boarders. PONTDEF-2 and three, remain on standby. PONTDEF-1, please enter chute bays for counter-boarding operations." The message followed with a repitition. "Well, Lieutenant, looks like there's a change of plans: we're launching. Once on their ship, we can use a dropship to make it to the structure. Let's go." Without further speaking, the two Shock Troopers sprinted to an armory and then the launch bay. When they arrived, others were also preparing for the counter-assault. The Dual Occupant Boarding Vehicles were sliding into position in the launch chutes. The creeking of decade-old magnetic rails under regular maintenance loomed around the soldiers complemented by the music of pods bludging into place. Where the two officers stood, a boarding pod slid into place. The two soldiers plopped their helmets on and secured their air-tight seals before proceeding into the cramped compartment of the DOBV. After sitting down, James retrieved his NH30D rifle from a magnetic plate on the back of his suit and ran a quick observation on it. He reached to the wall of the pod, which was adorned by three magazines of his needed type, and slid one into his weapon and attached another to the left side of the inserted clip and the third into a compartment hidden within the stock. Category:Halo: Infinity Category:SGW Trilogy